Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.

On August 30th, 2012, I employed Starving Students Movers to help me move my possessions from an apartment to my newly purchased condominium, only six miles away. Starving Students Movers promised the following guarantee when I hired them:

1. Two strong, professional men would be sent;

2. A moving truck large enough to accommodate a 4 bedroom, 2000 square foot home would be provided;

3. Furniture pads would be provided free of cost to ensure protection of my large pieces of furniture;

4. The rate would be $84.99/hour, with a 2-hour minimum, plus 22% added to the total;

5. Driving time in Los Angeles is doubled (i.e., if it takes fifteen minutes to drive from location to location, the amount of time would total thirty minutes);

6. A guarantee that no additional or hidden charges would be incurred in the price; and

7. My possessions would be cared for with the utmost respect.

However, these are not the results we received from Starving Students Movers. Following is a list of our complaints with
regards to the two charges:

1. One man took two fifteen-minute restroom breaks in the middle of the day;

2. The other man constantly kept making inappropriate advances on my girlfriend and making her feel totally uncomfortable and it was completely unprofessional;

3. Neither man brought any water or water bottle to drink from on a sweltering hot day in Los Angeles, to which I spent over $40 for several bottles of water and Gatorade for them for fear that they would collapse otherwise;

4. I opted to hire a third man to help with the unload at the condo but he stopped working 45 minutes before the job was done;

5. One man sat in his truck for over 30 minutes hand-calculating my total while only one man finished the job;

6. The truck did not accommodate all of the property within our apartment, which was only 1,200 square feet and included no large appliances such as a washer/dryer, dishwasher or refrigerator. We had to rent a U-Haul truck the next day in order to finish our move, which included 2 dressers, 10 boxes, 1 vanity, plants, a sofa and a desk with a hutch as well as lamps and a few chairs;

7. Furniture pads were not offered. Instead, I was told by the two men that if I wanted my furniture protected I had to spend $29.99 to buy industrial plastic wrap and have each individual piece of furniture wrapped by them. This added an exorbitant amount of time to the overall move;

8. The rate was calculated at $89.99/hour instead of $84.99/hour which is what I was quoted;

9. In addition to the rate discrepancy and the $29.99 charge for the industrial plastic wrap, I was also charged three additional hidden fees: $18.40 for mattress bags, $3.00 for tape and a PUC fee (of which I am not sure it is) for $5.83;

10. During the unload, boxes that had clearly been labeled FRAGILE, CHINA or CRYSTAL, etc. were turned upside down and very carelessly placed about;

11. Boxes were crushed;

12. Furniture had scrapes and scratches that went right through the industrial saran wrap;

13. Boxes and items were tossed carelessly throughout two rooms and I was told that if I wanted the movers to put the boxes in the rooms as they were labeled, I would be charged additional;

14. Once the truck was fully unloaded, I saw a stack of furniture pads that extended from floor to ceiling that were never utilized for the protection of my furniture;

15. In the end, I was told my balance due was $565.08 but 45 minutes later (when the job was actually complete) was told that the balance was $622.35 because the computer was now working and could accurately calculate the price;

16. The man who gave me my bill couldnt even verbalize a three-digit number, such at six-hundred-twenty-two-dollars-and-thirty-five cents. Instead, he had to say the amount digit-by-digit in order try to explain my balance to me.

I called Starving Students Movers the very next day, August 31st, to complain about the service I was given. I was sent to a voice mail of a woman in claims who has never called me back. That same night I decided to call Discover to question the charge and find what kind of protection I had. Since then, I have tried calling back to Starving Students Movers to get the complaint department on the phone but to no avail. I feel I have been completely taken advantage of and have no form of recourse.

Finally, SSM contacted me to offer me $80 off of my $1,200+ bill. They accepted NO blame and said that everything seemed normal to them. ARE THEY SERIOUS??????

Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.

AUTHOR: get smart not robbed - (United States of America)

SUBMITTED: Tuesday, February 19, 2013

POSTED: Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Moving companies in California are licensed by the public utilities commission. They have rules, regulations for moving services performed within the state. The max4 tarrif sets the maximum rates for moving services. Local moves, (less than 100 miles) are straight hourly rates. Dbl drive time between is the fuel charge. They are required to provide you a booklet "Rights and responsibilities when moving in California" 24-72 hrs before move day unless you scheduled last minute. Take the time to look this up info up and report them to the CPUC. You may recieve some refund plus they could be fined or license be suspended. Worth the fairly simple effort.

Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.